Felix Houphouet-Boigny

Felix Houphouet-Boigny (18 October 1905-7 December 1993) was President of Cote d'Ivoire from 3 November 1960 to 7 December 1993, preceding Henri Konan Bedie. Houphouet-Boigny was a tribal chief and a French politician before becoming the first post-independence leader of Cote d'Ivoire, which he ruled for 33 years according to Houphouetism, a conservative and pro-West ideology.

Biography
Felix Houphouet-Boigny was born in Yamoussoukro, French West Africa (now Cote d'Ivoire) on 18 October 1905, and he was one of the first Africans in the French colony to graduate in medicine. His first wife was of royal descent, and in 1940 he himself was appointed regional chief of the Akuwe people. He established his leadership through the foundation of the Association of Customary Chiefs, and his presidency of the African Agricultural Trade Union, a movement founded in protest against racial discrimination among planters. He represented the Ivory Coast in the French Constituent Assemblies of 1945-6 and the National Assembly until 1958, where he successfully introduced a measure calling for the abolition of all forced labor throughout the French colonies. Back home, he was supported by the Democratic Party of Cote d'Ivoire. At first allied with the Communist Study Groups, he broke with them in 1950 and co-operated with the French to build up the country's economy. After holding several ministerial posts in France he returned to the Ivory Coast when it was offered self-government within the French Community. With full independence in 1960, he became President of the new republic. An astute and pragmatic politician, he maintained power mainly by playing off various contenders for his position against each other. In addition, his pro-Western (particularly pro-French) capitalist policies created a powerful elite, whose welfare was tied to his survival in power. He died in office in 1993.